The Adventures of Little Moony Mooncalf
by typin' paw
Summary: Spring is the time of great changes. Same goes for Remus Lupin. Find out which role Fenrir Greyback, chocolate ice-cream and an old children's book are playing.


_**A/N:**Did you ever wonder how it was possible for Fenrir Greyback to lure little Remus away from his parents' protection at night to be able to attack him? Personally, I think it highly unlikely that the two of them just happened to run into each other on full moon. Hope you enjoy._

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**The Adventures of Little Moony Mooncalf**

It's a beautiful day.

The sun makes her first appearance in weeks. _Hello Remus, I'm back. Did you miss me?_ she seems to whisper, caressing his skin with her warm fingers, winking at him from puddles and windows and making him laugh with her radiance.

Blinking, he looks up to his Mummy. He can't see her face, it lies in the shadow. Still he knows that she is beaming too. Mummy loves spring, just like Remus. The smell of wet earth and fresh air, the lengthening days, the colours, the cheerful chirping of the songbirds…and last but not least the ice-cream Mummy's best friend Martha, who works at the little café at the edge of town, is finally starting to sell again after the winter season. And that's where Mummy and Remus are heading to right now, hand in hand, like every morning.

Although it's already the beginning of April and the sun is shining, the air is still quite cold after a long and hard winter. That's why Remus's hands are gloved, his head is covered with a bobble hat and a long scarf is wrapped around his neck which trails in the dirt behind him. Twice he already tripped over it which is demonstrated impressively by the knees of his trousers. The clothes are made of wool and they itch and scratch, but Mummy has knitted them all by herself and they are colourful and funny and that's why Remus loves them.

Martha's café is an inconspicuous, tiny shop at the periphery of Hills Valley which has, contrary to its name, no hills or valleys at all but is instead a sleepy village surrounded by cornfields and grazing land. The café barely has room for more than a handful of people, a little more during winter when there is no ice-cream machine that takes up any space. The building is very old and smells strongly of cinnamon and coffee beans. This early it usually is empty apart from Mummy's friend Martha and a young woman with long blond hair and a very round face who comes in every morning for a little pick-me-up after walking her dog. The dog is almost as tall as Remus and has chocolate brown fur. Remus likes dogs. He would have liked to have one but Daddy is allergic and doesn't like too much dirt in the house.

A little golden bell chimes as Mummy opens the door of the café. Actually the bell is rather unnecessary since the door creaks so loud in its hinges that it cannot be heard, despite its efforts. Remus likes it anyway. It is like a welcome. Mummy lets go of his hand and the floorboards creak as she rushes past him and flings her arms around her best friend's neck. Although they see each other for breakfast almost every day, their welcome is always as if they haven't met for ages. Remus likes Martha a lot – especially because of the ice-cream which she presses into Remus's hand together with a wet kiss on his cheek. Good boy that he is he keeps a straight face in view of the kiss and takes the ice-cream – the first ice-cream of this year – with bright eyes. Martha knows him well enough to know his favourite flavour: chocolate. Two wonderful, glistening scoops of it on top of a crunchy, gold brown cone. Because Mummy loves to chat with Martha in detail about a lot of topics Remus finds too boring or too silly, she allows him to eat his ice-cream outside in the sun. A bit clumsy because of the woollen gloves, Remus balances his ice-cone while he opens the shop door. A very old bench stands in front of the café whose wood is slightly rotten and in some places covered with a thin layer of moss. It is still a bit wet because it had rained heavily the previous night, but that doesn't bother Remus. With some trouble he climbs on top and lets his legs dangle. The sun warms his face while the ice-cream freezes his mouth.

Suddenly a shadow falls on him from behind and he turns around in bewilderment.

Behind him stand a tall man. Because the sun falls in his back he can't see his face, only his teeth which blink at him.

"Hello, young man. Mind if I sit down?" the voice is rough and scratchy and vaguely reminds Remus of a growl. But he can hear a smile so he nods tentatively.

The man takes a seat and now Remus can see his face. It is very hairy and wrinkly and in some places he can see pale lines which criss across his quite dark skin. The black hair is very dirty and unkempt, sticks to the back of his head in some places and sticks out in odd angles in others. Occasionally a ray of sunlight catches in a strand of grey hair and gleams and glitters. He sighs deeply while he makes himself comfortable next to Remus. His gaze wanders – Martha's café, the rain-wet street, the low stonewalls across, behind which a flock of sheep is grazing – before he blinks into the sunlight and turns to Remus with a wide smile.

"Bit cold for ice-cream, don' ya think?" he asks with a cocked eyebrow. His teeth are yellow and uneven and a whiff of bad breath wanders past Remus's nose. He shakes his head hesitantly.

"What's your name, my boy?"

Uncertainly Remus frowns and presses his lips together while he tries to avoid the stranger's gaze whose bloodshot eyes irritate him.

"What's wrong with you?" the man inquires kindly. "Can't talk?"

Remus shakes his head vigorously. "I mustn't talk to strangers" he whispers and hides behind his ice-cream which has started – despite the cold – to run down the cone.

"Oh" the stranger says knowingly and works on an even wider smile. He extends a broad and hairy hand. The fingernails are long, chipped and very dirty. He nods encouragingly. Remus throws a quick glance towards Martha's café as if to check what his Mummy would say, but she is still deep in conversation and doesn't notice him. Hesitantly he takes the offered hand and shakes it. "I'm Fenrir" the man introduces himself. "Now that I'm no stranger anymore it surely is no problem if you tell me your name, right?"

"Remus" Remus says tentatively.

"Hello Remus" Fenrir says with glowing eyes and his smile grows into a grin. „Tell me, can you read already?"

"A little" Remus says proudly and feels his cheeks go red. Mummy taught him the alphabet and he can read her handwriting pretty well already. Daddy's handwriting however could just as well be from a different planet.

Fenrir nods appreciatively. "Not bad. In that case I have a little something for you." He rummages around in his ragged brown coat for a moment and produces a book. It's a children's book with a worn blue cover on which a pale-grey creature is shown. It wears a yellow top hat on its round head and swings a pink umbrella – swings it indeed as the book appears to have moving pictures. Just like the few pictures in Daddy's books. The molten chocolate ice-cream carelessly falls to the ground as Remus reaches wide-eyed for the book Fenrir is holding up for him. He had always wanted a moving picture-book for his own. All the books Mummy is getting for him are very pretty and colourful but apart from that a little lifeless. With some difficulties Remus is able to read the title of the book: _The Adventures of Little Moony Mooncalf_ by Peculia Q. Dearwinks.

"That's Moony's story. Bet you've heard a lot about him, right?"

Remus shakes his head while he carefully runs his gloved hand over the pale creature's top hat. It giggles soundlessly, lifts its hat, bows and winks at Remus.

"Seriously? That's weird. I think I've never met a child your age before that hasn't ever heard of Moony's stories. Well, little Moony is a pretty lively fellow. You could for example ask him politely to tell you his story himself on page three. Wouldn't recommend it, though. Gotta know, this book is very old. It had belonged to me when I was about your age. I'm afraid the poor little bloke had a lot of dust to swallow over the years. His voice might give prove to that…" Fenrir says thoughtfully.

Little Moony waves at Remus and suddenly vanishes from the cover of the book altogether. Aghast Remus stares at the spot it had been only a moment ago. But only a split second later it is back, stomps its peculiar tiny foot, gesticulates furiously and vanishes again. Remus turns to Fenrir somewhat helplessly.

"It wants you to follow it" he laughs. Remus stares disbelieving. "You have to open the book and look at the pages" Fenrir chuckles amusedly. "Moony is a mooncalf. They do exist in reality, did ya know that? Very rare creatures, those mooncalves. Moony's story is entirely made up of course, but…every good story has an element of truth."

For a long moment they both sit in silence while Remus flicks through the pages of the old children's book. Moony appears delighted to have found a new companion and leads him, soundlessly laughing, through his devotedly created home until they reach an artful double-page nearly at the end of the book. The scenery shows a cornfield at night just like the one behind Remus's home. In the background a low stonewall is visible that surrounds the field. The night is dark and clear and one should be able to see many stars but a gigantic full moon outshines them easily. An invisible gust of wind rushes through the high corn and sways it softly. Moony jumps out of nowhere, grins broadly and whistles mutely. Immediately a troop of pale mooncalves appear from behind the corn, seize each others hands and start a wild dance beyond the full moon.

"The _Reel of the Mooncalves_, with a large amount of luck one can actually observe it in reality" Fenrir notes and brings Remus back to the present. As he looks up he realises that the tall man has been watching him the whole time with a strange, amused look and he feels his cheeks grow hot. "It is said that they dance to celebrate the death of winter. Supposedly one has the best chances of actually seeing them dance at the beginning of spring. In cornfields and only during full moon, just like in the book. People say it is a sight you will never forget for the rest of your live."

Fenrir gives Remus a moment to let his words sink in. He watches as his eyes grow steadily wider with excitement as he slowly starts to realise the geographic characteristics of his hometown.

"Oh, I would give almost anything to be able to see this spectacle, wouldn't you? Such a pity that mooncalves are so damn shy. They only tolerate children in their vicinity. I believe only a handful of grown-ups have ever been able to catch a glimpse of them." Out of the corner of his eye he watches Remus bob up and down in anticipation.

"Erm, Sir-"

"Fenrir" he interrupts him cheerfully.

"Fenrir…when is the next full moon?"

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_**A/N:** This is the translation of _Die Abenteuer des kleinen Moony Mondkalb_ which I originally wrote in German. I did this to improve my English skills and to share this story with an even wider audience. Reviews and critics of any sort are highly appreciated and will be rewarded with lots of virtual chocolate =D!! (Hope, I didn't throw in too many mistakes. If you spot any, please tell!)_


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